Mama
by Maudlin Mush
Summary: Sometimes there is a good excuse to be absent from work.  Danny whump, Steve angst and fried chicken...
1. Chapter 1

Mama

by MM

disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money on 'em, sure love to whump 'em!

Chapter one: We're suffering a Lapse in Communication...

"Hey, Steve, got a minute?" Danny asked somewhat breathless. Several gunshots came over his phone.

"No, me and the cousins are kind of busy here," Steve retorted a little tersely. "Could use your backup!" he barked as he fired his gun in response.

"Uh, have to pass," Williams managed.

"Well, we'll just have to talk about this later, if you manage to get your lazy butt into work!" McGarrett growled and hung up.

Apologetically Danny looked up at a bound older woman, Mama, in the back room of her coffee shop. He'd managed to get his phone, a difficult feat given the cuffs and the beating he'd endured.

"I got another friend on speed dial," he promised. Gingerly he rolled and once more manipulated the phone as best he could. He knew Mama was terrified; he forced himself to be calm even though he wanted to rant about the situation.

"Kamekona! The Shaved Ice King!" the surprisingly chirpy voice came over the phone.

"Hey, Big Man! It's your favorite Haole!" he coughed, splattering blood before trying to take a breath.

"Little big man!" he said affectionately. "What can I do you for?"

Steve McGarrett was still growling about Williams being awol. Kono and Chin were now keeping a respectable distance since nothing they'd said had curbed his anger. He stormed into the Palace and eschewed the elevator.

"WILLIAMS!" his voice actually rattled the door glass. He stomped through each office not finding the focus of his anger.

"He'd better have left his resignation!" he threw his office door open. On the desk was a sticky note.

*Call me, haole! Kamekona*

"What's that?" Kono asked as she followed him in with Chin.

"Don't know," he growled. "Danny knew today was the day we went down on the Bautista drug runners! He knew how important it was to get into that compound! Where is he?"

"Maybe something happened to Grace?" Chin suggested for the third time.

"How did he sound when you spoke with him?" Kono asked gingerly. The immense adrenaline rush of the bust was finally winding down. Now they could talk rationally with the Navy Seal.

"Uh, breathy, like he'd been running," Steve leaned against his desk and rubbed his forehead. If Danny had been there a couple of tylenol would be plopped in his hand. Now that he thought about it something was wrong. Williams was too much of a professional and team player to leave them in the lurch.

Before he could express his concern the phone rang. He pushed speaker.

"McGarrett! 5-0!" he said as he continued to massage the bridge of his nose.

"Cmdr, have your heard from Detective Williams?" the governor's worried voice came over the line.

"Yes, sir," he said. "But I don't know what's happened to him. I am disappointed that he didn't show up for work."

"You don't know what happened to him?" he asked, incredulous.

"Exactly that, he did not show up to work. He called me in the middle of the Bautista take down to talk to me!" Steve huffed still a little annoyed. "I really couldn't talk then."

"I would recommend you turn on your television, view the break-in news," the governor replied and the phone went dead. With a shrug Kono picked up the control and flicked on the wall screen. She surfed the channels until they came to a news feed.

"Isn't that Mama's coffee shop?" Chin asked. There was police tape cordoning off the business, an officer standing stoically in front of the door. They picked up the report mid-stream.

"...was severely brutalized. He was taken to Hawaii Medical Center. Ms. Iatora, Mama to her friends and customers, was restrained but unharmed. She was released by paramedics on the scene..."

Chin quickly opened his phone and hit the speed dial. He had Kamekona on the speaker phone before Steve could finish moving.

"Hey, Kamekona! Steve got your note," he said.

"Yeah, good, the little Haole sure is buss up!" the big man said.

"Eh, I won't buss him up too bad when I get my hands on him!" Steve grunted. "We sure could have used him this morning!" Steve vaguely watched the news report wondering why the Governor had told him to watch it.

"Well, maybe he couldn't help because he was handcuffed and shot up," Kamekona's voice dripped sarcasm. "Seems that when he went to pick up coffee and malsadas for you guys he walked in on a robbery at Mama's. Took a shot and lots of kicks. Maybe snapped his forearm. Severe concussion. Managed to use his cell phone to call me since he had to use speed dial."

"Wha-at?" McGarrett stopped and paled significantly.

"Mama's, some guys hopped up on meth wanted her til," he explained. "Danny walked in on it and Mama said he protected her. Took all their shit after they tied Mama up. She's really shook up."

"He was the person who was beaten?" Steve eeked out.

"Yeah," Kamekona reported. "Still in surgery. Had to sign the papers for ya, coe-man-der, since you weren't available. They'd like you to come in and do it all official when you can spare the time."

"Surgery?" now Steve had to sit down. All that vitriol drained out of him.

"Yeah, bullet in the leg, got hit with a baseball bat," he was relaying injuries like he was checking down a grocery list. "And the rest of contusions are pretty bad, and the hits to the head. They figure he was pounded on da floor. Mama is too shook up to give a report. Maybe Chin can come down and talk with her." Kamekona said. "She trusts him."

"Shit," Steve dropped his head into his hands. "He called for help and I blew him off."

"We got to get to the hospital, Boss," Kono urged. The team moved out to her car.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Ok, That's a Good Reason

Note: rewrote chapter one and hopefully have dealt with my ooc issues. Didn't name the new governor...

There were several news vans already there with a couple more just starting to set up. The police had them roped off to the side and the

5-0 team simply walked by without comment. A hospital spokesperson was surrounded by microphones telling them it was too early to discuss injuries.

It seemed that they were expected, an orderly motioned to them and brought them to a private lounge. Kamekona was seated, Mama carefully tucked under his arm while a police officer squatted down in front of her talking softly. When they walked in Mama looked tearily up and reached for the older detective.

"Chin! Oh Chin! He was so brave," her face crumpled as she fell into his arms. Kelly gathered her close and let her take comfort. He made soothing noises and rode out the storm. After a few long moments a nurse appeared with some medication.

"Ms. Iatora? Mama?" she asked as she gently touched her back. "I have something to help you calm down, ok?" After some cajoling on Chin's part she accepted the small tablet and glass of water. She returned to sitting, but pulled the detective with her.

"I am sorry, to be so weak," she said with downcast eyes.

"Mama! You are not weak! Whatever happened must have been terrible," he quickly responded. She dabbed at her tears and nodded.

"It was," she said. Now Kamekona sat beside her providing a solid wall of comfort. Kono, Steve and the HPD officer, Nephi Pelona, formed a loose, non-threatening half circle around them.

"Can you tell us what happened, Mama?" Chin asked gently. She shuddered then nodded.

"I, I had just finished making a new pot of coffee," she said, "when these three nerjis kids come in the shop. I ask them what they wanted and they come behind the counter and grabbed me. Danny walk in then, sees the kids and starts talking, trying to get them to let me go."

"What happened next?" Chin pressed gently.

"They, one had a knife and said he'd cut me," she swallowed. "Danny said they could take anything they wanted, that they could take him if they'd just let me go. He gave them his handcuffs and they snapped them on him right away and took us into the back room."

"After a minute, they taped me to my office chair. Danny complained a lot so they made sure there were napkins wrapped around my arms before they put on the tape... so... it... wouldn't hurt me," here she burst into tears again. It was several long minutes and several sips of water before she was able to continue.

"Two of the kids, they were sweating so much, and cursing out Danny for coming in da shop. He told them to get what they wanted and clear out. Then, then the one guy, he seemed to be the leader, he just smiled and laughed. It was not a nice laugh. He shoved Danny and the other two shoved at him and then they started to hit him over and over." She burrowed back into Chin's arms.

"He, he was so brave! He, he just took hit after hit and tried to get them to leave. Then, when he fell they started kicking and and one found the bat I have. The kid wanted to see if he could break his arm and he tried so hard to get away but they held him down and they laughed about a pig pinata." Now Kono joined her in crying softly. "They slammed his head against the floor and then they found his wallet and gun and badge. They took the money and then checked out the gun then... then the leader shot him in the leg, just to see what it looked like."

Steve had to sit down, right in the middle of the lounge. Kono followed and leaned against him. Danny, their Danny, had been beaten and shot and they couldn't do anything about it. Steve felt doubly guilty having doubted him. Danny never would not show up to work without a very good reason.

Getting beaten to a pulp while protecting a little old lady was one.

"When they finished they toss his gun on the ground and went to the front of the shop and opened the register. I could hear them throwing things around. They made a horrible mess. They yelled 'have a nice day' and then they slammed the door. Danny, he was so hurt, so much pain. All he'd say was he was sorry, that I should not have had to watch that. Then he managed to get out his phone and he called for help. He apologized to me and explained you were too busy to come but then he called Kamekona. After that he just lie on the floor, and there was blood and he had trouble breathing but he kept telling me it was all right, that I'd be fine. He was hurting so bad and all he cared about was that I was ok." She dried her eyes as she leaned against Kamekona, completely spent.

"Ma'am?" Pelona looked quietly at her," can you describe the three men that did this?" She nodded and proceeded to tell the young officer what each man looked like. No one noted Kamekona, how his eyes hardened. They barely noticed when he asked about tattoos. Then he slid out and moved across the room making a phone call.

Meanwhile Steve and Kono managed to pick themselves up and slump down on chairs both in shock. They sat there a while only coming back to focus when hot coffee was put into their hands. Looking up they were greeted by the concerned eyes of the new Governor.

"I figured if I came here I'd get both reports," he said as he sat down across from them. Chin Ho came over; several friends of Mama were there (thanks to Kamekona) and he wanted to be with his team. He nodded at the Governor, accepted coffee, and waited to participate in the discussion.

First McGarrett described the Bautista drug raid. They'd captured the leaders of the group as well as many of the associates. HPD back up was perfect; they'd easily subdued and processed all the criminals. Given it was a joint effort, the police were basking in the glow of good press coverage.

Then on to Mama and Danny. Chin took the lead and relayed what Ms. Iatora had reported. The Governor shook his head in disbelief.

"How long has he been in there?" he asked, nodding towards the surgery. Steve checked his watch.

"Nearly three hours," he said dully.

"I'm standing down 5-0 for now," the man decided. "We'll let HPD handle the Bautistas and the robbery. I'll have updates on both sent to you."

"Thank you, sir," McGarrett shook the Governor's hand. The team tracked his movement as he left the lounge with his personal security detail.

The next second the door burst open and Grace ran in pulling her mother behind her.

"Where's Danno?" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. "Where's my Danno!"

"Grace, hush!" Rachel tried but the girl threw herself at Steve and wrapped her arms tight around him.

"It's gonna be ok, Gracie," Steve tried shushing her. She clung like a burr and wet tears fell. Chin put a comforting hand on her back.

"They're fixing him up right now," he said aloud for both women's benefit. "He's going to be fine."

"Unfortunately we saw the news," Rachel sat down carefully next to McGarrett. "The reporter was full of speculation and very little fact."

"He's hurt, but nothing that can't heal," Kono said quietly.

"And Mama?" Grace's head popped up. "Mama gives me cookies."

The little old lady had gotten up and was standing there waiting patiently.

"I am fine, keiki," she said gently. The girl surged up then carefully hugged the older woman. Then Steve moved and let them sit together.

Lapsing into silence, consumed by their own thoughts, time chose to continue onwards. Kamekona disappeared completely.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: So many Harassment Seminars...

Dr. Lewis entered the lounge pulling off his surgical mask and hat. He quickly motioned for the team to remain seated as he made his was over to their chairs. He turned a chair so he could talk all of the people.

"First off, Danny made it through surgery just fine, no problems on the table," Lewis began. "We had to repair three broken ribs and patch his left lung. Those will heal with no problem. His forearm was cracked but not completely broken. That's being casted now. The gunshot wound was through and through, didn't hit the artery or the bone in his upper thigh. Again, cleaned and stitched and shouldn't cause any problems."

"Is there a 'but' coming up?" Steve asked.

"No, not really," Lewis shook his head. "The concussion is actually minor. He'll need some physical therapy to regain his strength. Some peace and quiet to heal. Overall he was very lucky."

"Getting beaten up is lucky?" Ms. Iatora spat out.

"Yes, ma'am, he is very lucky," he said patiently. "The bullet could have done a lot of damage and the concussion could have required a medical intervention like drilling through the skull. His lung was pierced, but it was a single poke, no bone shards. Yes, he was lucky."

Mama was still not too sure about the luck, but she settled back at the suggestion of her friends.

"When can we see him?" Steve asked as he leaned forward.

"Soon, once he's settled," Lewis said.

"Mama, you and Grace need to go first, then you can go home and rest," Chin suggested. Although Kono and Steve wanted first rights, they agreed that the older woman and Grace needed to see for themselves Danny was ok. Grace latched on to Steve's hand.

"I wanna go with Uncle Steve," she said.

With an affirmative nod Lewis offered an arm and gently led the woman down the hall to post op.

Steve brought Grace next and let her have some time talking to the unconscious man. She promised to come back with plenty of hugs and pictures the following day. Rachel carried the exhausted child out to the car.

When the team were finally let in Danny had been moved to step down for monitoring. There were wires everywhere but no ventilator. Monitors beeped and relayed data while other tubes carried various fluids to and from the still form. There were bruises everywhere that was visible, including deepening marks on his face.

"Oh, bro, this is so not fair," Kono whispered as she pushed back his hair from his face. Chin moved to the other side, picking up the lax hand of the non-casted arm.

"Mama's fine, Danny, you did good," he said. Steve hung back, still deeply guilty. Of all the suffering his partner had gone through, the thought that he could have helped was crushing.

"Boss, Danny won't blame you," Kono said as she looped her arm around his and pulled him closer.

"But I basically told him he was shirking his work," McGarrett muttered. "He was alone and protected Ms. Iatora and I didn't even let him tell me what was going on!"

"We were in the middle of a gun battle!" Chin protested. "He knew that! He won't hold you responsible for this!" A nurse entered the room and bustled around taking various vitals and marking them on her touch pad.

"Please let me know when he wakes," she said. "Then the doctor will assess him for pain relief." She moved out the door and the team once more circled the bed.

Morbid curiosity propelled Chin to check under the sheets grimacing at the additional bruised surfaces. Kono started to check it out as well, Chin clucked at her with a negative head shake. Rolling her eyes she peeked under the sheet as well.

"You... aren't... a nurse," a shaky voice chided. Blushing, Kono dropped the sheets and turned towards her friend.

"You don't have anything I haven't seen before!" she bluffed.

"But it's... my anything," Danny grimaced as pain zapped through his body. Chin immediately pushed the call button and reported the patient was awake.

"It's a very nice anything," Kono put her hand on the less damaged side of his face.

"So many sexual harassment seminars," he muttered, "ice?"

Steve reached over for the ever present cup of ice and spoon and carefully tipped some into his partner's mouth. He gratefully let the cold water trickle down his dry throat.

"Mama?" he asked, eyes clenched shut against yet another stab of pain. Steve pressed the button and repeated that the patient was awake and in pain.

"She's fine, Danny," Chin said still holding his good hand. "Shook up, but not harmed at all. You did good." The grip tightened as he rode through more bolts of pain.

"Hurts, really hurts," he rolled slightly on the bed. Steve leaned over him to hold him still.

"I know, aikaine, just hold on," he soothed. "Lewis will be here soon." He watched as Williams strove to not yell out, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. McGarrett could only talk to him, whispering promises.

Kono had finally gone out to the nurse's station and surprised Lewis as he was reviewing charts.

"We called twice! Danny's awake and he's in a lot of pain!" she chastised him liberally.

"Awake? Why wasn't I contacted," he turned to the nurse at the station. She shrugged.

"I didn't take the calls," was her response. With a growl the doctor dropped the chart, ordered the nurse to follow, and walked quickly down the hall. He didn't even bother trying to shoo the team out of the room. It never worked. He just pushed Steve aside to do a quick assessment.

He ordered several meds and made sure the nurse understood she was not to stop for anyone else. Then he continued to look at the various wounds and tubes. Steve had moved to the top of the bed so he could continue to speak to his friend.

"Once we get some morphine on board we'll roll him a bit on his side, get him off those ribs," Lewis said calmly. The nurse was back with a small tray. The first syringe was carefully emptied into the iv tubing. He waited a few moments until he saw the muscles begin to relax. A second syringe was administered. He adjusted the drip and then had the nurse hang a small bag of antibiotics and connect it. Finally the nurse was dismissed.

"I don't like the way some of the staff ignores patients," Chin grumbled.

"Your team seems to draw the problems," Lewis allowed. "I will get it straightened out. Let's get you into a better position, Danny." With help Williams was carefully rolled onto his right side and pillows were tucked behind him. When he was settled back down he sighed in relief.

"Thanks, doc," he breathed as he slipped back into sleep. Lewis pulled his pad from his pocket and began tapping furiously.

"I'm ordering meds every four hours," he said aloud, "so you can make sure he gets 'em. I don't anticipate any problems, but I do want to keep ahead of the pain. We'll keep him sedated for a couple days then start to back off."

"We'll make sure someone's here with him," Steve asserted. There was plenty of Ohana that would come to sit with Danny.

"We need to call some people," Kono pointed out. Phones were pulled out (Lewis didn't even try to enforce hospital rules as there were no sensitive machines in the room). Soon Rachel, the Governor, Kamekona and Ms. Iatora were updated. The big man promised to be in later; he had some news for the team.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Kamekono Returns

True to his word the shaved ice man arrived less than half an hour later. He was back to his grinning affable self as he came into the room with a bucket of fried chicken. Steve raised an eyebrow but the cousins happily grabbed a couple of pieces.

"How's my favorite Haole doing?" he asked as he sat down on a chair near the bed. Williams was totally out, face slack in sleep. The big man pushed a wayward tuff of hair off his forehead before turning to face the rest of the team.

"Lewis wants to keep him sedated for a couple of days," Steve reported. "He doesn't think there'll be any problems. Hung some antibiotics just in case."

"Good, the little Haole needs his beauty sleep," he grinned.

"What are you so happy about?" Kono asked around a mouthful of chicken.

"Eh, it's a wonderful day," he said with a cheshire smile.

"Ok, big man, give me!" Steve grouched.

"Maybe those pupule kamaaina that hurt Mama were like, found by some of the ohana," he said happily.

"Are they like, in one piece?" Steve asked somewhat sarcastically. He knew what could happen if Mama's ohana caught the perps. Kamekona looked positively offended.

"Of course they're in one piece! You tink the family would hurt them?" he retorted, then added sotto voce, "much."

"How, 'much'?" Steve persisted.

"Eh, maybe a couple bruises," Kamekona said. "The brothers dropped 'em off at HPD."

"And you're sure they caught the right people?" Chin asked in his most serious tones.

"Of course! The lolos were bragging about it! They were all hopped up on something and laughing about shooting a cop! They were lucky that some of the wahines were there 'cause I can promise you they'd be way more hurt," a flash of anger crossed Kamekona's face. "No one messes with Mama or the Haole."

The team looked at one another. It seemed the ranting Jersey cop had gained quite a few protectors.

"We just don't want the charges to fall apart because of some procedural problem," McGarrett said. That caused both cousins to burst into gales of laughter. Even Kamekona had to smile at that assertion.

"Hey, don't wake up Danny," Steve sulked as he adjusted the sheet over his slumbering friend. There was not so much as a twitch from the somnolent man.

"Sorry, boss," Kono had quelled the laugh to snickers. "Just that's Danny's line he uses against you!"

"Maybe it's sinking in," Steve retorted clearly miffed. Another aborted round of laughter. He latched on to a piece of chicken and tore off a bite chewing viscously. After a moment he looked down at the innocent food.

"Hey, this is good!" the health nut proclaimed to the still laughing group.

Note: yeah, short, but it breaks nicely here...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Drive-By Feedings...

A week later Danny was finally allowed to go home. He'd asked the volunteers to pass his flowers, balloons and toys (so many stuffed animals!) to other patients who would enjoy them. Grace had picked out one bear for herself (some one had done a build-a-bear detective complete with tie) and he retained a soft plush giraffe. He didn't quite understand the giraffe, but Mama had tucked it in bed with him and he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

Kono somewhat sneakily took a squishy brown horse that was called a 'pillow pet'. Danny just grinned and shook his head. When he noted the two other male members of the team watching in disbelief he whispered to Grace to choose a toy for each of them. It was amazing just how red they could blush. Steve tried glaring at the manta ray while Chin decided if he could possibly decline the sea turtle placed in his hand.

There was a huge pile of cards and gift tags that required thank you notes. Williams was determined to set a good example for his child. The outpouring of well-wishes was over-whelming but it would give him something to do while he was resting at home.

Of course, 'home' translated to McGarrett's house; the ohana would all want to be together for a few days. Cold case files had been secured for the duration with computers set up in the 'command center' in the formal dining room.

They'd barely gotten Danny into the house and ensconced in the lounge chair when there was a knock at the door. Fearing it would be some news reporter looking for an interview Steve put on his 'don't mess with me I'm a lethal weapon' face and opened the door partway.

He wasn't expecting a small army. Bearing plates, bowls and ice chests.

The commander of the invasion pushed him aside and led the group into the house and back to the kitchen.

"Mama!" Chin tried greeting the small woman as she strode in, a woman on a mission. She easily dodged around him and went straight for a bewildered Danny.

"There's my nohea keiki," she said happily as she bent down to kiss his cheek. A titter of laughter was heard from many of the invaders.

"Mama?" he was confused, and the meds weren't helping.

"Just rest," she said. "You won't even notice we've been here." The clattering in the kitchen seemingly didn't support the assertion but he allowed her to fuss over him. A rather pretty girl returned with a tall glass of a fizzy juice drink. Suspiciously he took a sip before grinning.

"No pineapple for you!" Mama said confidently. "Plenty of good kau kau to help you heal. Made enough for your ohana. You rest and I will be back with more day after tomorrow." She again kissed his cheek then directed the invasion to leave. As Steve watched in disbelief the crowd started out the door.

"Take care of the Haole, commander," she directed. "He need plenty of rest, food and ohana." She closed the door.

The four team mates were frozen in place looking rather stunned.

"Was that a drive by care package?" Kono asked faintly. Chin rolled his eyes.

"We're in for it," the older detective shook his head in mock sadness. "Mama's gonna make sure we eat."

"Does that mean apple pie?" Danny looked up hopefully.

"At least two," Kono confirmed. "Guess we'd better go see what they've left for us." As the cousins moved towards the kitchen Steve took the juice glass from his partner's shaky hand. A quick sniff and sip drew a surprised raised eyebrow.

"Good," he proclaimed and carefully handed the drink back. He also headed for the kitchen, at the least to get a glass of juice for himself.

"Wow! Look at the pork and chicken!" Kono was sniffing a container of lightly seasoned, cooked meat.

"And macaroni salad like Danny likes," Chin grinned. "Plenty of sliced fresh fruit and prepared veggies ready for steaming."

"Pie," Kono lifted it up.

"Some sort of grains for breakfast with enough directions to launch a navy battleship," Chin displayed a piece of paper.

"Where's the juice?" Steve asked as he started nosing around the fridge.

"Uh, hmmm, there are some juices here and bottles of sparkling water," Kono pointed to a cooler. "Plus directions on how to mix it together!"

"There are notes about the notes!" Chin snickered. "I guess Mama figured we didn't know how to cook!"

"Given Boss's entire cooking repertoire consists of slamming steaks on the bar b cue..." Kono started and stopped when the aforementioned boss pulled up to his full height giving her an "I am not amused" glare. But it was ruined by Chin's giggling. The moment was broken when another knock sounded from the front door.

Then the door slammed open before they reacted allowing a news team into the house. A camera started flashing as Danny sleepily tried to sit up straight; the motion causing him to groan in pain.

"Detective Williams, how did it feel to stand up to three different attackers," the reporter was in his personal space. Danny responded by trying to get away. He pushed up out of the chair and sprawled on the floor. The resultant pain caused him to curl up into a fetal position, tears falling. And still the camera flashed.

Steve immediately pulled the reporter back while Chin deftly confiscated the camera. Kono was on her knees soothing the hurt man. Hand cuffs came in to play.

"Hey! You can't arrest us!" the reporter yelled. "I know my rights!"

"You have no rights here," Chin snapped. "This is a private residence and you are not only breaking and entering but attacking an injured police officer." They were shoved onto the couch then McGarrett went to help Kono while Kelly called the HPD.

The reporter continued to loudly proclaim he was well with in his rights to 'acquire the story' from Williams. Tempers were coming close to blowing up and it was Danny who used his injury to keep his partner and rookie focussed. Between the two of them they picked him up and Steve carried him into a separate sitting room.

Williams stayed curled tight against the Navy Seal making sure he wouldn't leave him and cause more problems.

"I'll get some dry clothes," Kono offered given the juice had dumped down his shirt and shorts. She exited gracefully leaving the two men alone.

"Ow," Williams offered as he tried to get comfortable.

"Ow? You get knocked ass end over tea kettle and all you can say is 'ow'?" Steve asked incredulously.

"uh, ouchie?" Danny said. Steve just stared.

"What, I'm suppose to get off a long, raucous rant about the pain that hack caused me? Thought it was kind of obvious, but if you like I can resume the moaning and groaning and eek out a few tears. 'Cause I tell you, wouldn't be a problem between the bullet hole and the ribs and let's not forget the forearm. Even with a cast that sucker hurts! And I can't take any more meds cause you already gave them to me. Shit, I'm gonna vomit," Danny suddenly paled and it was only because there was a wastebasket by the desk that saved the hard wood floor.

"Sssh, it's ok," Steve held him and the basket. The retching hurt the already touchy ribs and when Kono came in he was still dry heaving. She sprinted out and quickly returned with a wet towel and glass of water. Assisting Steve they held on until the final shuddering heaves ended. The cool cloth wiped his face then was folded over the back of his neck.

Carefully tipping him back onto his lap Kono moved the basket and held the cup to his lips.

"Just swish and spit," she cautioned. Danny complied then took a sip and tried swallowing. They all waited to see if it would stay down.

In the front room the HPD had arrived and were reading the two men their rights. Although the reporter claimed he was well within his rights, the police kept their faces tooled in stern expressions. Chin had downloaded the pictures onto a laptop just in case they were 'lost'. The way the photos were shot showed them coming into the house and accosting Williams. Although there was no sound, the pictures would be more than enough.

After removing the perps the senior officer, Connors, took a statement from Chin indicating he'd be back to speak with Danny. Kono had called Lewis who'd authorized additional pain relief along with an anti-emetic to quell the nausea. Twenty minutes later Connors was leaving and Williams was curled up asleep against McGarrett and Kono.

"Bed?" Chin suggested.

"Yeah, he needs to lay down," Steve agreed. Between the two men Danny was transported upstairs and tucked into the guest bedroom, a clean waste basket close to the bed. Chin perched in a chair.

"I'll wait 'til you fall asleep, Haole," he said calmly. When he didn't get a negative response he leaned closer and patted him on the shoulder.

"Got your back," he said quietly. Danny nodded as his eyelids closed.

Pau~


End file.
